Patience and the Path to Perfection -- 25 March 2013

When I wake up in the morning, you know just what I think? It's a very special day, the best day of the week! TREAT DAY!!!!

Dear Friends and family, I sure hope I got your favourite song stuck in your head, because it is jammed in mine.

Yesterday was a very nice Sunday. An investigator we had was confirmed a member of the Church and on top of that, I got to sing. Not in a solo, but in a choir!!! It's the institute choir down here in Medicine Hat! Last week they called and they said, "Elder Hill, we hear you can sing."        Uh oh.

So, I went over to the church and they handed me some music that they needed a tenor part on. So I sang tenor. I'm sure I stood out like a stain on a tie, but it was so nice to have the opportunity to be a part of it. I love to sing so much, and I am so grateful for music and for the spirit that it helps me to feel.

To this day, whenever I'm hurting or need some help or have trouble feeling the Spirit for whatever reason, I still turn to the music I learned in high school. I remember, "Praise to the Lord of the Small, broken things..." and "When your weary heart is tired, if the world should leave you uninspired, if nothing more than love's desired, my blessing goes with you. When the storms of life are strong, when you're wounded, when you don't belong, when you no longer hear my song, my blessing goes with you..." Even O Joli Jeu (which has nothing to do with God) brings back memories that help me to focus on the Lord. Music is a powerful resource for personal conversion.

Anyway, recently I have been focusing on studying Patience. This is what PMG says: 

"Patience is the capacity to endure delay, trouble, opposition, or suffering without becoming angry, frustrated, or anxious. It is the ability to do God’s will and accept His timing. When you are patient, you hold up under pressure and are able to face adversity calmly and hopefully. Patience is related to hope and faith—you must wait for the Lord’s promised blessings to be fulfilled.

You need patience in your everyday experiences and relationships, especially with your companion. You must be patient with all people, yourself included, as you work to overcome faults and weaknesses.

“Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.”

  

It talks about not being angry, frustrated, or anxious. Well, I'm a perfectionist. I tend to get angry, frustrated, and anxious about things all the time because I worry so much about the mistakes that I make. The thing is, all of those emotions carry on. When you feel them in one part of your life, they are automatically involved in another part of your life. The good news is I'm growing.

I learned today that another great word that could be substituted for "patience" is "trust" specifically "Trust in the Lord" (see Proverbs 3:5-6 and Mosiah 23: 21-22).

 21 Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to ^achasten his people; yea, he trieth their ^bpatience and their faith.
 22 Nevertheless—whosoever putteth his ^atrust in him the same shall be ^blifted up at the last day. Yea, and thus it was with this people.

When we trust in the Lord, we are enabled to look past our imperfections and the imperfections of others.

The next thing I thought of was anxiety. Why? Well, patience means not feeling anxious, and, frankly, I feel anxious at every moment. My heart pounds within me and I am afraid of making mistakes whenever I speak to people or teach, or train, or do anything as a missionary, really. It has taken a great amount of personal guts to get through my fears, and I've done it, because I believe it is what I need to be doing. Well, "true doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior, faster than a study of behavior changes behavior." So, here's what I didn't understand: I didn't understand what it meant to forget my own imperfections, and to rely wholly on the Lord. To "trust in Him" is more than just doing what He says, it's doing what He says, in His way, in His time, through Him, letting go of all personal reservations, including---if not especially---fear. When we trust God, the anxiety abates, because we KNOW He can and will get it taken care of. When we trust God, we know He will take us completely and that He will change us to meet His standards. We will be, literally, perfected in Him. Anxiety, fear, impatience, gone.

Well, I just felt like sharing that with everyone. I love you all so much! Have a great week! I love you all!

This is M, the agnostic we met when I first came to this area.